


Eyes of the Reaper

by MissShortieBrown



Category: Dance with Devils (Anime), Dance with Devils (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Dark Past, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-10-04 04:31:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17297816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissShortieBrown/pseuds/MissShortieBrown
Summary: "Technically, I should be 50 right now.It was...strange to die at 25. But I never thought I'd have so much regret when I woke up again.In Hell.Funny enough, it wasn't fire and brimstone and Satan and poking pitchforks. It was...well. imagine a busier Tokyo.I...I guess in all technical terms, I'm alive?But what is being alive really? Working? Eating? Sleeping? Having emotions? Then I guess I'm alive.And who knew Death would be a greater adventure for me than life was.And besides. I got to see Mage again."





	1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

 

The first sound she heard when she died was...rain.

 

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a soft, grey sky, and...black raindrops?

 

The first touch on her skin was warm and wet.

 

The first smell was earthiness and soil.

 

The first taste of anything was hot soup and tea.

 

She remembered that day. It was a day of firsts. Of calm smiles and gentle head pats. Of laughter and sadness and the smell of tears. Of good food and gentle music. Of soft blankets and fuzzy pyjamas. Of kindness and acceptance and love and embraces. Of things she had never known from her own kin. Most of all, she remembered how warm everything was.

 

This was not...What she expected Death to be.

 

~

 

The woman with the violet eyes was startled awake on the late night bullet train. The automated voice above announcing the stations had roused her from sleep. The hood on her sweater had fallen back slightly from being pulled over her eyes. She shifted slightly in her position of lying sideways on a two seater in the bullet train with her backpack against the window she was leaning on. Since it was such a late night train, not many people were on. A few older people had given her scathing looks for her “informal” treatment of the train seat but she didn’t pay them much mind. Japan was big on manners. It wasn’t something she much cared for. She was used to getting all types of looks anyways.

 

She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Swinging her legs over, she sat herself upright and stretched. Her black and red headphones had slipped off in her sleep and hung askew around her neck, which she slipped back on her ears. Lo-Fi music continued to croon slowly from them, putting her at ease. She slipped her phone out of her pocket and tapped a few buttons to illuminate the screen. Her violet eyes darted back and forth quickly, re-reading the message a few times. Tendrils of her white hair fell into her face, which she blew away in annoyance. Her phone buzzed again, this time with something humorous, since she gave a snort of amusement at it.

 

She flicked her phone to the front facing camera. Lifting her arm up to get a good angle, she flashed the peace sign and snapped a picture. Pulling her phone towards her again, she looked over the selfie to see if it was suitable for sending. The girl in the picture looked pretty happy.

  
  


Her golden brown skin glowed in the lights of the train. Her hood was down, showing her long, white hair in all it’s glory, undone and pooling off her shoulder. Her red hoodie with white fur inside was slouchy yet comfortable. Her double necklace peeked through, her face was rounder than she preferred, her 7 ear piercings glinted in the light, a conglomeration of hoops and studs, the scar across her eye was a lighter tone than her skin and the hoop in her nose twinkled. Her fingers thrown up in a casual peace sign, red nail polish pristine. Her face was a mix of tired, smug and self-assurance.

 

It wasn’t a bad selfie.

 

It certainly didn’t give way to the mild panic she felt entering Japan.

 

Clicking send, she slipped her phone back into her pocket and stretched again. She pulled some strawberry Pocky from the side pocket on her bag and crunched away. They had to be getting close to the town now. She’d been on this train for HOURS. Not including the first part of the commute she had to do. 36 minutes later (which felt like FOREVER) the automated voice sang to her in its metallic drone, announcing the arrival of the train in the town she was going to.

 

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she stepped off the train to the station, letting the outdoor smell hit her. It smelled...well. Like nighttime in Japan. Exiting the station went smoothly, and now she stood on an unfamiliar street. She sniffed the air, and zeroed in. Food. She smelled something delicious.

 

Following her nose led her to a late-night yakitori stand. Grilled meat on a stick? Count her in! She groaned as her stomach growled in agreement. She walked up to the stall and greeted the old man with a grin.

 

“Good evening Ojii-San. How are you?” she greeted formally.

“Oh, you know. Bone are cracking but my fire is crackling!” he responded cheerfully, earning a giggle from the girl. She bought copious amounts of food, thanked him, bowed and was on her way.

 

She walked down the quiet street, munching on sweet glazed chicken, sticky, dripping beef, crunchy tempura veg and sipped from her ramune bottle. She snorted at the fact she probably looked like a green tourist, brown bag in hand, but then again, she never really cared much for rules and what not to do. Japan frowned heavily on eating and drinking while walking, but she was hungry and thirsty with somewhere to be. She snapped another pic of herself with a grilled pork yakitori between her teeth and sent it. Moments later, her phone buzzed insistently and crooned out music **.** She picked up.

  
  
  
  


“Helleeeeeeeerrrrrrrrr! You’ve reached Kage Watanabe’s Crematorium! You kill ‘em, we grill ‘em!”

 

“Oh. My God. You always sound so dumb on the phone.”

 

“Only with you Ryu the Poo!”

 

"..." she heard an audible sigh on the other end of the phone.

 

"Noooo come back!!" she grinned, polishing off her pork yakitori.

 

“Are you panicking?”

 

“...Awww man. You found me out.” she frowned, a little upset she wasn't able to hide it.

 

“Hey, hey. Stop, You’re okay. Breathe.”

 

“...”

 

“You there?”

 

“Mm. Breathing.”

 

“Good. I know that place doesn’t have a ton of good memories, but don’t forget why you’re there.”

 

“Right. Mission. Got it. To eat all the delicious food Japan has to offer.”

 

“I’m serious Kage.”

 

She giggled. “Well you must be, since you never use my real name.”

 

She heard a noisy exhale of someone trying to keep it together over the phone. “How the hell do you go from panicking to laughing, jackass?”

 

“Cause hearing your voice calms me down Ryu. At least I know you’re only a phone call away. Granted, I’m always surprised Hell gets such magnificent reception -

 

“YOU. ARE. GOING. TO. BLOW. YOUR. COVER.”

 

“Awww shucks. Who would think I’m actually undead? Right now I look like an uncouth tourist.”

 

“That too. At least TRY to blend in. Running around looking like a “gaijin” isn't helping.”

 

“Eh. It’s fun though. You should see the looks on some peoples faces. It’s like I offended their ancestors. WHO WALKED AROUND AND ATE.”

 

“You don’t know that.”

 

“Our ancestors were CAVEMEN. Do you really think – Oh wait. I’m here.”

 

“You good?”

 

“Mhm. I’ll call you later?”

 

“Text me when you get in.”

 

“Yes mom.”

 

“I’m serious. I’m worried about you over there.”

 

“What you SHOULD be worried about is your back breaking when I get home cause I’mma give you the biggest bear hug.”

 

“...I look forward to it.”

 

She smiled as the wind blew her hair slightly. “Sweet dreams Ryu.”

 

“If you’re in them, they will be.”

 

“You dork.”

 

“Goodnight Grim.”

 

She clicked the end call button and smile gently. Her best friend always knew what to say to make her feel better. Truth be told, she was a little nervous being back _here_. This part of Japan left her nerves fried. Bad memories all around.

 

But Ryu was right. She had a reason to be here. She had a mission here. Wiping her hands on her grey jeans, her Timberland – clad feet walked her up the stairs of the small apartment complex. It was cute, painted a pale yellow, with brown stairs and square windows. There were 4 apartments on the ground floor and 4 on the second floor making 8 rooms total. She turned right at the top of the stairs and walked to the end. It was a simple wooden door. Unsheathing a small but intricate hunting knife, she carved a protective symbol into the door. She pricked her finger and smeared her blood into it. It glowed momentarily and the symbol melted away into the door, illuminating all of it in a blue glow before subsiding. Sliding the silver key in the gold doorknob, she twisted it and the door swung open. She stepped in and turned on the light.

 

It was quaint. Wooden floors, pale blue walls. A narrow hallway extended to the rooms beyond. She left her shoes at the door, locked it, and turned to her apartment. The bathroom was to her left, spacious and standard. Further in, the kitchen and the living room were all connected, but that was just fine. In fact it felt a bit homier than that. Well, not that she’d have anyone over but it was nice to socialize as you cook. A few boxes were piled neatly against the wall. She had packed light; after all, you never know when you have to leave abruptly.

  


A couch, a coffee table, and a rug adorned the living room. No TV, no time for things like that. Her bedroom was simple but comfortable. The only thing that seemed terribly out of place was the giant black punching bag to the left of the living room. But hey, you gotta relieve stress somehow, right?

 

She flopped on the couch, surprised she was able to sit after so many hours of sitting. But she was restless. She chewed thoughtfully on her skewer, long devoid of meat. Her leg jiggled and her eyes zoned out. Her breathing grew shallow. Her mouth dried. Her hands shook. Her face grew hot and she felt like everything was closing in on her.

 

A panic attack? Now?

 

DING.

 

She swallowed and glanced over at her phone.

 

“Ryuji Takahashi Mortuary, You Stab ‘Em, we Slab ‘em.”

 

She snorted. This guy.

 

But she felt better.

 

Grabbing her phone, she took it with her to the bathroom and took a quick shower. She always felt better after one. The water was cool, to counteract the heat in her body and soothing. Dressed in red shorts and a black tank top she made her way to her room. She texted Ryu till she fell into a dreamless sleep.

 

Tomorrow’s adventures awaited.

  
  
  
  
  
...But unbeknownst to her, a pair of electric blue eyes had followed her every move.   
  
  
  
  
  
  


  **Author's Notes: Ahhhhhh. Hello everyone :) Welcome to my Dance with Devils fic. Hopefully I've left you all intrigued with my abundance of OC's and lack of devils. Thanks for visiting, and I should have the next chapter up soon :)**

 


	1. Chapter 1 - Hello New School Year

Chapter 1 - Hello New School Year

 

Ritsuka awoke to a very frilly apron in her face.

 

“A-AHH! LINDO! I told you to knock before you come in!!” Ritsuka shrieked covering herself with her blanket.

 

Lindo chuckled as he stood over her. “I did knock, but you were being a sleepyhead and didn’t answer.”

 

Ritsuka pouted as Lindo ruffled her hair affectionately. She was such a little kid sometimes. He turned to leave, satisfied she was awake.

 

“Breakfast is ready.” he tossed over his shoulder.

 

Leaving her room, he went downstairs, his heart twinging a bit at how adorable she looked in her pink Pjs. As much as he wanted her to be his...that itself was a pipe dream.

 

Ritsuka strehed and yawned. It was a month into her new school year as a third year. Her uniform stayed the same, her classes stayed the same, the same hallways, everyday was the same.

 

But also not.

 

There was no Azuna. There was no Rem. Even Mage, Urie and Shiki would have been more welcomed in this dreariness she called her life. It was weird. She had her mother back, Lindo was around, life was normal and peaceful. As it should be.

 

But Ritsuka wanted something more. What that “more” was, well, she wasn’t sure.

 

She got up and got ready. Brushing her teeth, combing her hair. It was a touch longer than it used to be, more so that she could put it in a tiny ponytail now. On went her uniform and down the stairs she went. Her mother was watering the flowers on the windowsill and Lindo was plating up breakfast; grilled salmon, rice, miso soup and vegetables. Even her breakfast was normal.

 

“Good morning Ritsuka.” her mother, Maria, said warmly to her daughter.

 

“Good morning mom.” Ritsuka replied, smiling at her.

 

“Eat quickly – you slept so much we’ll be late otherwise.” Lindo joked, placing the dishes in the sink.

 

After eating, Maria waved them off to school. Lindo and Ritsuka walked along, relatively chatty. He listened to her talk of classes and the people around her and he talked of up-keeping his exorcism training even though there was no threat around. Ritsuka was surprised. She figured Lindo would leave it alone since she no longer contained the Grimoire. To that Lindo simply replied, you can never be too careful. Also, it was something to do. Ritsuka envied him a bit. She didn’t have any powers or anything really to occupy her time so most of it was spent reminiscing, cooking, or spending time with her mother.

 

Again, she felt a dull ache in her heart.

 

The school arrived into view, students filing in. As they both walked inside, friends, or “friends” of Ritsuka ran up to her, expressing their hellos. Really though, they were trying to get close to Lindo. Ritsuka sighed, bade her goodbyes, and walked off to class, leaving Lindo to drown beneath his fangirls.

 

She saw a bright note posted on the main bulletin board claiming there was a short 10 minute assembly happening before classes. She frowned, what type of assembly could be so short? Nevertheless, she followed the crowd heading into the auditorium and sat down quietly. She could see Lindo a few rows in front of her.

 

The principal, an elderly man with thinning, graying hair, bespectacled and a straight posture walked up to the podium. He cleared his throat and noise ceased.

 

“Good morning students of Shiko Academy. I hope you all are well and are settling into your respective years nicely. Now I wanted to introduce you all to a couple things. First of all, we have a new class – Japanese Folklore and Mythology. This will be an elective class and sign up for that class will be held all this week. Secondly, I’d like to introduce you to a new teacher. She will be teaching the new course. I’d like to introduce you to Ms. Kage Watanabe.”

 

The principal finished and from behind the curtain stepped out a woman. The collective intake of breath in the auditorium was sharp and audible.

 

She was captivating. Her skin was darker than all those present with a golden hue to it. Her hair was stark white, down and loose with parts pulled up into a two twin buns and her fringe going diagonally from her forehead to framing her face. Her nose was small and cute, her eyes painted with pastel pink her lips plump and painted a light rose. She wore a red, long sleeve kimono cut top with a black corset with light blue ribbons and a long, mermaid-style black skirt. She wore a green shawl that looked like leaves and gold-coloured shoes with a strap running across the top. The small silver hoops in her ears glinted in the light of the auditorium and the tiny stud in her nose twinkled. She wore a confident smile as she strode up to the podium. Her violet eyes were filled with a merriment that the scar across it couldn't take away.

 

It was strange. Her aura was warm...but prickly? Ritsuka couldn’t put her finger on it but she seemed...lonely.

 

 

 

 

“Good morning everyone, and thank you all for coming to what is, possibly the most narcissistic assembly. As you heard, my name is Kage Watanabe. I’m 25 years old, a Libra, and blood type O, which means I’m confident, self-determined, strong-willed and intuitive, but also self-centered, cold, unpredictable and potentially a workaholic. All while not being a fan of conflict. All that aside, while I fit most of those, I’m also what we call ‘a delinquent’. I’m not native to Japan, though I’ve lived here almost my whole life, but my rules and values differ from those of Japanese culture. But at the end of the day, I would like to get along with all of you, teach you what I know, learn from you and have fun. I look forwards to seeing those who chose to be, in my class on Monday. Thank you very much!” Ms. Watanabe finished with a bow.”

 

There was stunned silence. Did...did the new teacher call herself a delinquent? And smiled about it?

 

Even the principal was shocked. But he quickly cleared his throat and thanked everyone for coming and dismissed the students to their classes.

 

Once out of the auditorium, everyone was abuzzed.

 

“Dude did you hear that??”  


“A delinquent?”

 

“No way!”

 

“What do you think she meant by her values are different?”

 

“She seems so much different than your typical person.”  


“She was gorgeous!”

 

“Oh yeah, a total hottie!”

 

“She feel really fun!”

 

“And she had the brightest smile!”

 

“She makes me feel all warm inside~”

 

“I can’t wait to be in her class!”

 

“Aw man, I can’t but tell me how it is!”

 

“I’m gonna sign up as soon as they put the list up.”

 

“Did you see her eyes?”

 

“And that scar? Maybe she really is a delinquent!”

 

 

On and on the students went, Ritsuka catching snippets of their conversations on the way to class, the excitement in their voices palpable. Class itself, wound up being on the more boring side. Not that that was surprising, being English. But still, she was distracted by what had happened in the auditorium. Gazing out the window, she let her mind wander.

 

Ms. Kage Watanabe.

 

She certainly didn’t look full blooded Japanese, though she spoke it fluently.

Her skin was...well, gorgeous. Smooth, save for the scar on her eye, and a beautiful caramel brown. Her eyes were bright and luminous, like a cat but seemed constantly excited. She spoke with lots of hand gestures, like everything she said was a story. She really was mesmerizing.

 

 

Class ended without a hitch, as did the next one, lunch and the classes afterwords. The restlessness grew in Ritsuka. Things felt too boring. Maybe that was the problem.

 

After school, Ritsuka and Lindo met up by the entrance to walk home together. Of course, Ritsuka brought up Ms. Watanabe to him.

 

“What do you think of her Lindo?”

 

“...hard to say.”

 

“Hm? What do you mean?”

 

“I mean...well, there’s something about her I can’t quite put my finger on. She seems... like she keeps people at a distance.”

 

“I got that too. Like she’s lonely.”

 

“Mm. But she seems happy.”

 

Ritsuka gazed ahead. That was true, she did seem like a happy individual.

 

“Plus...she makes me feel warm inside.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“N-Not like in a weird way!” Lindo panicked, waving his hands and blushing a bit, “but just like...well...safe? And happy? Gah, I don’t know, forget it.” he groaned looking away.

“Me too actually.” Ritsuka said thoughtfully. “She seems like...like Mom.”

 

They didn’t say anything for the rest of the walk home, pondering that thought. Arriving at home, they bid good afternoon to Maria. Lindo started on dinner and Ritsuka went to her room and began her homework. They all ate a wonderful stew later on, and after washing up and taking a bath it was time for bed. As Ritsuka was drying her hair, her gaze landed on the king’s crown necklace on her nightstand. She hadn’t...thought about Rem all day. Her thoughts were occupied elsewhere.

 

 

Japanese mythology huh? Maybe she’d take the class. After all. She might be able to learn more about devils to be reunited with hers someday.


End file.
